Pasadena Unified Holds Final In-Person Town Hall Before School Closure Vote

On Tuesday, the Pasadena Unified School District will hold its second and final scheduled town hall on the school consolidation process, this time in person at Pasadena High School from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

The session comes one day after the Superintendent’s School Consolidation Advisory Committee meets for its sixth session — with only one meeting remaining before it is expected to deliver a recommendation to the Board of Education in May, according to the PUSD website.

PUSD is projecting a budget shortfall of $30 million to $35 million for the 2026-27 fiscal year. Enrollment has fallen roughly 23 percent over the past decade, from 17,267 students in 2014-15 to 13,228 in the current school year, according to district financial reports. Fourteen campuses across Pasadena, Altadena, and Sierra Madre remain under review for possible closure or consolidation, a figure that has not changed since the advisory committee voted in March to remove nine schools from the original list.

The town hall will be livestreamed in English and Spanish at pusd.us/townhall. Spanish translation and childcare for school-aged children will be available at the venue. The deadline for submitting questions in advance was 5 p.m. on April 24; public comment will be available at the event itself, according to the district’s announcement.

The consolidation process is being guided by a 33-member advisory committee appointed by Superintendent Elizabeth Blanco, Ed.D., from 167 applicants. The committee includes parents, staff members, community members, and two high school students, according to the PUSD website. It is working with Total School Solutions, an educational consulting firm retained under a contract not to exceed $233,300, with Dr. Joseph Pandolfo serving as lead facilitator, according to Pasadena Now.

The committee began meeting on February 23, 2026. At its March 9 session, members voted to remove nine campuses from consideration, including John Muir High School, Pasadena High School, Octavia E. Butler Magnet, and Sierra Madre Middle School. That left 14 schools still under review. At the March 23 meeting, committee members asked for more time before removing additional schools, according to meeting notes published by the Pasadena Education Network, an independent parent-advocacy organization. At the March 31 session, the committee voted to have the consultants present their own consolidation scenarios rather than proceeding with another member vote, the organization reported.

Among the campuses still under review, Altadena Arts Magnet Elementary is the only Altadena school on the list — a point of concern in a community still recovering from the January 2025 Eaton Fire, which destroyed or severely damaged five PUSD campuses in the Altadena area, according to district records. The fire’s aftermath has compounded the district’s financial strain and added complexity to the consolidation discussion, with displaced students and families operating at temporary school locations more than a year later.

“It is important to note that no school is slated to be closed or consolidated at this point in time,” Superintendent Blanco wrote in a community message on March 11, “and that it is possible that the Committee may not recommend any schools for closure.”

The district’s financial pressures extend beyond the consolidation discussion. In November 2025, the Board approved $24.5 million in budget cuts. In February 2026, it authorized the elimination of 161.35 full-time equivalent certificated positions and additional classified staff reductions, according to Pasadena Now’s reporting on the Board meeting. Without one-time Eaton Fire insurance revenue, the district is running a $16.9 million structural deficit in the current year, according to district financial reports.

The formal process leading to potential closures began on December 11, 2025, when the Board passed Resolution 2852, setting minimum enrollment thresholds for schools to be considered sustainable: 300 students for elementary schools, 400 for middle schools, and 900 for high schools, according to Pasadena Weekly’s reporting on the meeting. In January 2026, the Board voted 5-2 to approve the contract with Total School Solutions and passed Resolution 2857, establishing nine equity metrics for the committee’s analysis as required by state law AB 1912, according to Pasadena Now.

Community opposition to potential closures has been visible. More than 300 people rallied at Pasadena City Hall on February 7, according to Pasadena Now. At the March 26 Board of Education meeting, 56 speakers — parents, students, teachers, and staff — addressed the Board in opposition to closures, according to the same outlet. On March 31, more than 50 parents and students protested outside PUSD headquarters before the fourth committee meeting, according to Pasadena Today.

The first town hall on March 31 was a virtual session from 9:30 to 11 a.m. Questions were submitted in advance and read aloud by the moderator; the format did not include live public comment, according to Pasadena Now’s coverage of the event. Tuesday’s in-person session at Pasadena High School offers a different format. The venue is at 2925 E. Sierra Madre Blvd. in Pasadena.

The committee’s remaining schedule calls for a seventh and final meeting on May 11, when it is expected to deliver its recommendation. Public hearings are set for the May 28 and June 11 Board meetings, with a vote on any closures scheduled for June 25, according to the PUSD website. Any approved closures would take effect in the 2027-28 school year.

The SCAC meets Monday evening at 5 p.m. at the District Education Center, 351 S. Hudson Ave., Room 151, in Pasadena. Information about the committee and its work is available at pusd.us/scac. The town hall livestream and recording will be available at pusd.us/townhall.

Pasadena High School, the site of Tuesday’s town hall, is one of the nine campuses the committee has already removed from its closure list. The 14 that remain have no such assurance.